If Castiel was in Season 1
by RavenWingDark
Summary: An AU where Cas meets Sam and Dean in 1x03 and how the rest of the series would change because of it. Sometimes it might go a little off the storyline but typically, it will have each episode's original plot line. Written to allow more bromance between Sam, Dean and Cas and some Cas!Whump. Rated T for swearing, blood and alcohol. No surprise there.
1. 1x03 Dead in the Water

**An AU where Cas meets Sam and Dean in episode 3 and how the rest of the series would change because of it. Sometimes it will go a little off the storyline but typically, it will have each episode's original plot line Written to allow more bromance between Sam, Dean and Cas and some Cas!Whump. Hopefully, their relationship will progress similarly as in the show.**

I wanted to write this because some of the plots would be quite interesting with Castiel in them and it gives them more time to bond.

**Also, this a side-project because I'm focusing on my Pokéfic, Supernova but this was a plot bunny that wouldn't hop away. So unless this story gets a fantastic response or something, expect irregular updates.**

**Thank you and enjoy!**

I do not own Supernatural and some lines are very similar or the same as the dialogue in 4x01.

* * *

1x03 Dead in the Water (Sam and Dean investigate a series of unnatural drownings caused by a vengeful spirit.)

Sam and Dean had been driving in the Impala for forty minutes, putting them far from Lake Manitoc and in a empty stretch of farmland when Dean realized he was hungry.

"Sam, find a convenience store or something, I'm starved." He whined.

"How do you expect me to do that?" Sam asked, annoyed. He liked helping people, of course—but he'd rather be listening to a Professor's lecture than Dean's whining. In facet, he sorely wished he could rewrite the last month of his life. He had felt like his heart was being ripped apart ever since—

"Sweet, just in time!" Dean sighed, turning sharply into a parking lot of a run-down gas station.

Inside was desolate—no cashier or anything, but Dean found a copy of last year's BAB magazine and some protein bars, so he was pretty happy. Until he realized the air wasn't stagnant so much as it was sulfurous. He hadn't smelled _that_ in a very long time.

"Demons!" Dean warned, not a moment before a hoard of unholy creatures poured from all four sides of them. Sam fumbled with the bag of salt he had been holding while Dean looked around him for his weapon.

"Wheres-my-knife?" Dean called anxiously. A red-haired demon grabbed him around his neck and pulled him high enough so Dean wasn't touching the ground. He punched the demon in the mouth, sending it reeling, but it soon regained its senses and gripped even tighter, returning a much more powerful punch to Dean's temple. These were far from run-of-the-mill demons. The demon narrowed its eyes at Dean and he instantly felt like his organs were being crushed. He tried turning to see where Sam was but it was getting harder to see. His eyes eventually re-focused on the glint of his knife, now in the demon's hand. What he'd do for his dad to be hunting with them.

"I'm sorry, I must have forgot to tell you I borrowed this, Human, oops." The demon cackled bringing the knife towards Dean's chest.

All of a sudden, a loud, high-pitched noise pierced the walls. It was so loud that Dean has forced to stop struggling in the demon's arms and cover his ears. It turned out it didn't matter though, the demon seemed to be more effected by the piercing sound than he was. It fell writhing to the floor. Dean dropped down as well, in order to avoid the shattering glass the sound waves caused. Explosions wracked disused wires as the stores's electricity fried.

Only moments later, the sound faded and Dean and Sam got to their feet and left, leaving the charred bodies destroyed on the ground.

"We've got to get Bobby."

* * *

Bobby sat at the table, listening to the brother's story.

"What you need is a psychic," Bobby told him, picking up the phone. He seemed nervous. Sam shifted nervously. A spirit or demon that could destroy other demons with sound spelled very bad news for them.

* * *

An hour later, Sam, Dean and Bobby sat with a strong-looking woman in her thirties.

"Listen," Dean leaned in to the psychic, which she responded to with a flirtatious wink, "We gotta find this spirit, you're sure you can contact it?"

"Of course, and afterward, I can think of two other things that can make contact," she said suggestively. Dean grinned wildly while Sam sat there uncomfortably, wishing he hadn't gotten out of bed that morning. (Though he spent the majority of the night staring at the popcorn-paint motel ceiling and trying not to think about the Fire.)

"Good, let's begin," Pamela told them, prompting them to all hold hands.

_"I invoke, conjure and command you appear unto me before this circle._

_"I invoke, conjure and command you appear unto me before this circle._

_"I invoke, conjure and command you appear unto me before this circle."_

The TV flicked onto static but Pamela continued. "_I invoke conjure an command…_Castiel? No. Sorry Castiel, I don't scare easy."

Dean's eyebrows furrowed. "Castiel?" The name didn't sound demonic.

"Its name. It's whispering to me, warning me to turn back." The table began to shake.

_"I conjure and command you, show me your face._

_I conjure and command you, show me your face._

_I conjure and command you, show me your face._

_I conjure and command you, show me your face."_

The rattling became more violent.

"Maybe we should stop," Bobby suggested firmly.

Pamela shook her head fiercely. "I almost got it! **I command you, show me you face! Show me your face now!**"

Suddenly, the seance candles flared up and Pamela started screaming. Her eyes opened, encased with white flame and she collapsed. Bobby jumped to help her, Sam rushing for the phone. Dean leaned down to help her, almost scared. Maybe a little more than almost.

Dean sat at a table at a diner, still trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened. It wasn't the worst, by far, but it had been enough to shake him. Just how powerful was this spirit?

Dean's phone rang and he picked it up without even looking at the caller ID.

"What'd Bobby say?"

"Pam's stable. And out of I.C.U."

"And blind, because of us," Dean dead-panned.

"And we still have no clue who we're dealing with." Was Sam's helpful addition.

"That's not entirely true."

"No?"

"We got a name. Castiel, or whatever. With the right mumbo-jumbo we could summon him, bring him right to us."

**A/N: Wow, Dean's the first to call Castiel a 'he' instead of an 'it' that's pretty cool! Way to go writers!**

"You're insane."

"We'll work him over. I mean, after what he did?" Dean said.

"Pam took a peek at him and her eyes burned out of her skull, and you want to have a face to face?"

"You got a better idea?" Dean rubbed his forehead in frustration. This 'Castiel' made defeating last week's Windingo seem like child's play.

"No, but searching the town's much better than searching for the spirit."

"Maybe," Dean relented. But he was going to go after him anyway. He hung up on his brother and dialed Bobby's number.

* * *

Finally, night had come and preparation had ended. Demon sigils, traps and talismans lined the ceilings, walls and floors of the old warehouse they set up in and anti-everything—stakes, iron, silver, salt, knifes—weaponry lay generously on the tables.

Finally, a reluctant Bobby chanted over a summoning bowl.

"This has got to be the dumbest idea you've ever had," Bobby sighed. But ten minutes later, when nothing had come, the two hunters were starting to have doubts.

"You sure you did the ritual right?" Dean asked. Bobby glared at him. "Sorry. Touchy, touchy, huh?"

Suddenly, the roof began to rattle. The hunters grabbed their shotguns and took their positions at the far end of the warehouse.

"Wishful thinking. It was probably the wind," Dean finally said,

The warehouse doors burst open before Bobby could reply. An attractive man in a trench coat and suit strode in light bulbs above his head shatter in a shower of sparks as he passes them. As he approached, Dean and Bobby both open fire, but the shots didn't even slow him down. Dean picked up a knife as the man got closer.

"Who are you?" Dean asked.

"I'm the one who slew demons with my voice." The trench coat clad man said, looking straight into his eyes. They had a strange simpleness but Dean knew better than to lower his guard.

"Yeah. Thanks for that." Dean reared back and plunged a silver knife into Castiel's shoulder. Non plussed, the man reached down, pulled it out and dropped it to the floor. Dean stared incredulously as nothing more than a small, but angry red cut remained of a six inch blade in his body.

Bobby attacked. Castiel didn't falter in his curious stare as he grabbed Bobby's weapon and used it to swing him off balance. Then he touched the plaid-clad man's forehead with two fingers, and Bobby crumpled to the ground.

"We need to talk, Dean. Alone."

Dean managed to break his stare at the strange spirit/demon that seemed immune to all conventional methods of attack to crouch down to check Bobby's pulse. Silently, relieved when he felt a steady, healthy heartbeat, he turned to glare at Castiel.

"Your friend's alive."

"Who are you?" Dean demanded, wondering why the monster's voice was so slow and measured. It seemed he didn't have a lot of experience talking.

"Castiel."

"Yeah, I figured that much, I mean what are you?" Dean waited, anticipating the answer. Demon? Trickster? Supercharged spirit?

"I'm an Angel of the Lord." The man simply said.

"Get the hell out of here. There's no such thing."

"This is your problem, Dean. You have no faith." Castiel said gently, tilting his head slightly.

Lightning flashed, casting on Castiel's back great shadowy wings, stretching off across the wall. They were gone when the lighting faded.

"Some angel you are. You burned out that poor woman's eyes." Dean said. _No, no, no, angels aren't real!_ He thought.

"I warned her not to spy on my true form. It can be... overwhelming to humans, and so can my real voice. But you already knew that." Castiel said sensibly.

"You mean at that gas station. *That was you talking*?"

Castiel nodded.

"Buddy, next time, lower the volume."

"That was my mistake. Certain people, special people, can perceive my true visage. I thought you would be one of them. I was wrong."

"And what visage are you in now, huh? What, holy tax accountant?" Dean was very much done with this creature.

"This? This is... a vessel." Castiel said, looking down to inspect his body with minimal interest.

"You're possessing some poor bastard?" Dean asked, glad he could know for sure where this spirit stood.

"He's a devout man, he actually prayed for this." Castiel told him. He actually seemed to care what Dean though of him, barely.

"Well, I'm not buying what you're selling, so who are you really?"

Castiel frowned. _He wasn't selling anything. It didn't seem to be a reference to his deity, 'the holy tax accountant'._ "I told you."

"Right. And why would an angel rescue me?"

"Good things do happen, Dean."

"Not in my experience." Dean said. Castiel narrowed his eyes slightly.

"What's the matter? You don't think you deserve to be saved?"

"Why'd you do it?" Dean asked. This surprised Castiel, humans were meant to seek solace. This man didn't even seem to want to try.

"Because God commanded it. Because we have work for you."

* * *

**Please review!**


	2. 1x04 Phantom Traveler

**Detective Kid1412:** It's season 1 so John is alive I'll be covered a little more in this chapter. Sam's is scoping out da town. Thanks for the comment

**My Peanut Gallery: **1. Author's notes are one of mannerisms I write with on occasion and in my experience with my other stories, it's well-received. This one, however was a remnant of me writing this story solely for myself in order to test out some cool fonts I downloaded. I do, however, recognize it may be distracting to some viewers but I have decided I can be juvenile seeing as I have a full two days before I'm an adult.

2. It's AU and right off the back I said it would be different than canon. i.e. In the actual show when Dean stabbed Cas, he wasn't hurt in the slightest. In this version he's less indestructible. A low level of belief has to be suspended for this story to function. Sam couldn't be there because then Dean wouldn't necessarily have the 'more profound bond' and wouldn't have to come to his own conclusion (him being the only one at the time to have talked to Castiel) that he was in fact an angel. Sam is scoping out the town for evidence of a spirit with killer vocal cords taking hits. _Which isn't too strange seeing as actually episode 6 (Skin) was the first episode they split up in._

3. I know, I know. But here, Dean's heard of the trickster heard of it through lore. Never met one cause he's just not at that level yet.

I'm glad you're interested and thank you for being my first reviewer. And thank you for the criticisms. Just understand I AM aware of the inconsistencies in this story and I'm simply handling then as best I know how. And if it's not good enough, there's many SPN authors on this site with better writing than myself and I can recommend some to you.

**You'll start to notice the dialogue straying further from the script as the story breaks off into a slightly different direction but in this chapter some dialogue is taken from 1x04 and 4x02. Enjoy!**

* * *

**1x04 The Phantom Traveler **(Sam and Dean board a flight doomed to crash to exorcise a disaster-causing demon.)

Bobby and Sam sat in Bobby's office, every flat surface lined with weathered yellow reading material and enough dust to create an Angora dust-bunny. Dean stood, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Well, then tell me what else it could be." Sam reasoned.

"Look, all I know is I wasn't talking to a frickin' angel."

"Okay, look, Dean. Why do you think this 'Castiel' would lie to you about it?" Sam asked.

"Maybe he's some kind of demon. Demons lie."

Bobby looked up from the stacks of the books he had been trying to decipher.

"A demon who's immune to salt rounds and devil's traps.. I've never heard of anything like that," he said, sounding utterly doubtful, "never seen a demon sleep-gas someone either."

"Don't you think that if angels were real, that some hunter somewhere would have seen one... at some point... ever?"

"Yeah. You just did, Dean."

"I'm trying to come up with a theory here. Okay? Work with me." Dean said, frustratedly.

"Dean, we have a theory." Sam said impatiently.

"Yeah, one with a little less fairy dust on it, please." Dean groaned.

"Okay, look. I'm not saying we know for sure. I'm just saying that I think we—" Sam started.

"Okay, okay. That's the point. We don't know for sure, so I'm not gonna believe that this thing is a freaking 'Angel of the Lord' because it says so!"

"You two chuckleheads want to keep arguing religion, or do you want to come take a look at this?" Bobby told them, impatiently. Sam and Dean relented and walked over to Bobby's desk. "I got stacks of lore - Biblical, pre-Biblical. Some of it's in damn cuneiform. It all says an angel is capable of everything we saw and more."

"What else could it do?" Dean asked, gripping the back of a chair.

"I don't know, far as we know, they're immune to demon weapons, have killer vocals, and can knock out cold by touch. Damn glyphs are practically indecipherable past that point. Must have been privileged information."

"Dean, this is good news." Sam told him, finally looking optimistic for the first time since Jess's death.

"How?" Dean didn't share his enthusiasm.

"Because maybe this isn't more monster crap. I mean, maybe you were saved by one of the good guys, you know?"

"Okay. Say it's true. Say there are angels. Then what? There's a God?" Dean seemed to relent slightly.

"At this point, Vegas money's on yeah." Bobby supplied.

"I don't know, guys."

"Okay, look. I know you're not all choirboy about this stuff, but this is becoming less and less about faith and more and more about proof." Sam said. Damn, he hoped angels were real. He could really use someone upstairs looking out for him and his family—Dean, Bobby and his dad, wherever he was.

"Proof?" Dean asked, bringing Sam back to his previous train of thought.

"Yes." Sam nodded.

Dean seemed to get a little angry at the idea of that. "Proof that there's a God out there that actually gives a crap about me personally? I'm sorry, but I'm not buying it." Where was He when his mom had died? When he carried Sammy out of the burning house by himself? When they grew up on the road and when Sam's girlfriend died?

"Why not?" Sam asked.

"Because why me? If there is a God out there, why would he give a crap about me?"

"Dean—" Sam looked pained.

"I mean, I've saved some people, okay? I figured that made up for the stealing and the ditching chicks. But why do I deserve to get saved? I'm just a regular guy." Dean explained.

"Apparently, you're a regular guy that's important to the man upstairs." Sam told him.

"Well, that creeps me out. I mean, I don't like getting singled out at birthday parties, much less by... God."

"Okay, well, too bad, Dean, because I think he wants you to strap on your party hat." Sam didn't feel like he was getting anywhere with this.

"Fine. What do we know about angels?" Dean asked, switching topics nearly flawlessly."

Bobby picked up a pile of heavy books and put them in front of Dean. "Start reading."

Dean made a move to grab the books right before his phone started ringing. He pulled out his phone. "Hello?" He asked cautiously.

"Dean, its, uh, it's Jerry Panowski. You and your dad helped me out a couple years back."

"Oh, right, yeah." Dean said, rubbing his face. "Up in Kittanning, Pennsylvania… the poltergeist thing. It's not back, is it?" Dean honestly couldn't handle another mess right now.

"No, no. Thank God, no. But it's something else, and…uh I think it could be a lot worse." Jerry said. Looks like Dean had no choice.

"Just curious, it doesn't happen to be glass-shattering noises does it?"

"No, why?"

"Nothing, 'll be there," Dean said finally.

* * *

Dean, Sam and Jerry walked through the airplane hangar.

"You guys fight a bus?" Jerry finally asked, noting the cuts and bruises both boys had across their faces and arms.

"No—I almost wish it was," Dean grumbled.

"We had a run-in with demons yesterday," Sam explained. Dean nearly balked.

_Had it all been just yesterday?_

* * *

Dean changed his mind—a good case was just what he needed. _Well, maybe not,_ he amended, looking around the terminal.

"You okay?" Sam asked him.

"No, not really," Dean said, looking down a little bit.

"What? What's wrong? Are you still thinking about—"

"No, I just have this problem with uh…"

"Flying?" Sam supplied with a small smile.

"It's never been an issue until now," Dean told him defensively.

"You're joking, right?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Do I look like I'm joking? Why do you think I drive everywhere, Sam?" He wasn't really afraid of flying so much as we was afraid of falling.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, on the ground, the trench-coat wearing angel squinted thoughtfully at the sky. "Interesting," He said finally, watching a plane descend into the clouds. A few minutes after it had gone, the angel resumed walking down the center of an empty highway.

* * *

After intercepting the demon possessing airplanes, Dean and Sam had rented a hotel room. Sam was fast asleep his bed, finally. He hadn't gotten sleep in days.

No wonder, the poor kid was practically blaming himself for his girlfriend's death. Something Dean'd have to straighten out after he woke up.

Then, the hunter heard the faintest sound coming from their room. Dean popped up from where he had been lying on his bed and crept over the kitchenette, knife ready in hand.

Castiel stood there, in front of the sink in cabinets, looking slightly curious. Dean lowered the knife and spun around to make sure Sam was still sleeping and walked over to join Castiel.

"Excellent job with the demon," the man said.

"You were hip to all this?" Dean asked, adding _divine knowledge_ mentally to Bobby's list of Castiel's abilities.

Castiel looked horribly confused. "I was, uh, made aware."

"Well thanks a lot for the angelic assistance." Dean vaguely registered that he had just referred to him as an angel. "You know, the plane nearly crashed like, five times."

"But it didn't," Castiel said. "And it can be difficult to fly onto an aircraft going over six hundred miles per hour."

"I thought angels were supposed to be guardians. Fluffy wings, halos—You know, Michael Landon. Not dicks."

Castiel ignored the references he didn't understand. "Read the Bible. Angels are warriors of God. I'm a solider."

"Yeah? Then why didn't you fight?"

"I'm not here to perch on your shoulder. We had larger concerns." Castiel told him firmly.

"Concerns? People are dying left and right. And by the way, while all this is going on, where the hell is your boss, huh? If there is a God?"

"There's a God." Castiel said seriously and maybe a little upset.

"I'm not convinced. If there is a God, what's he waiting for, huh? There's monsters roaming the Earth! At what point does he lift a damn finger?"

"The Lord works…" Castiel started.

"If you say 'mysterious ways,' so help me, I will kick your ass." Suddenly, something else hit Dean. "So, its true then, the demons are becoming active again."

"That's why I'm here. Big things afoot."

"Do I want to know?"

Castiel, who was still completely straight-faced, said, "I sincerely doubt it, but you should know. The demon Azazel has become a threat to humankind."

"Azazel?" Dean asked, part of him wondering how far he should trust the angel.

"Yes and because of him a dozen hunters are dead. It disrupts the weak balance of good and evil even further."

"Who is Azazel?" Dean asked firmly.

Castiel, whose gaze had wandered, finally turned back and looked directly into Dean's eyes. "You know him better as the Yellow-eyed Demon."

Dean leaned against the counter, feeling sick. "So the demon who killed my mother and Jess…Sam's—"

Castiel nodded. "I am aware of who Jessica Moore is and that Azazel killed her as well." Dean drew in a breath as it was confirmed that Yellow-Eyes was, in fact the killer of both women.

Dean looked at Sam's sleeping form, wondering if he should know. Their mother and his girlfriend had been taken by the same demon. And who the hell knows where their dad was?

"He shouldn't know now. His mental state is more compromised than you might believe."

"Why did he target us again?" Dean demanded, fighting the urge to grab Castiel's shirt.

The angel's mouth set in a line. "Azazel…seems to have a certain fondness of symmetry." Dean struggled to push his boiling anger down. It was Azazel who he hated, not the winged dick that stood in front of him.

Castiel continued on. "It seems that he wants the two of you irreparably broken."

"He can't expect to take over," Dean said. There was an tacit 'Can he?' at the end of the sentence that even Castiel seemed to understand.

"Why do you think we're among you for the first time in two thousand years?"Castiel asked.

"To stop him."

"That's why I've arrived."

"Well, bang-up job so far. Stellar work at Manitoc Lake or the ghost or Windingo, other demon attacks."

"I tried. And there are other battles, other demons. You cannot win each battle." Castiel reasoned.

Dean scowled. His heart told him 'The hell he couldn't,' his experience told him the damn angel was right.

Dean, always one to listen to his heart, replied with the former.

"Our numbers are not unlimited. A dozen stronger demons are a challenge, even for angels. You think the armies of Heaven should just follow you around? There's a bigger picture here. You should show me some respect. I saved you, next time you may not share the same fortune."

Castiel vanished with a flap of wings, leaving Dean alone in the kitchen, fighting a shudder.

* * *

The next morning—Or early afternoon, Dean woke up. It had taken nearly ten minutes for his heart to return to normal and a good hour for him to settle down enough to sleep. Sam was already awake, looking like he had only gotten a few hours—his new usual.

"You all right? What's wrong, Dean?" Sam must have noticed Dean's worried expression went he remembered the topic of conversation between the angel and himself.

"So… You got no problem believing in... God and Angels?"

"No, not really." Sam looked a little puzzled as to why Dean was asking him now, but content all the same.

"So, I guess that means that you believe they fight demons too."

* * *

**Review please! I'm working on the next chapter so expect it within a week or so.**


	3. 1x05 Bloody Mary

**My Peanut Gallery: **I'll try to mention changes I make in the story before hand so you won't have to guess whether it was a mistake or not. I'm not at all concerned with you replying in reviews, if anything, I find it easier. I hope to maintain your interest in this story for a while yet.

**Detective Kid1412:** Thanks for reviewing again! I appreciate the support (a lot)!

**Good news is that I have an outline for the rest of season 1, in fact, I almost uploaded the next chapter instead of this one.**

**Some dialogue used from 4x03**

* * *

**1x05 Bloody Mary **(Sam and Dean investigate what seems to be the legend of "Bloody Mary" come to life.)

Dean woke up after a solid six hours of sleep. It had been a week since the Convenience Store and three days since the angel Castiel's last appearance after the plane case. Just long enough that he woke up without thinking it was all some freaky dream. He rolled over to the other side of the hard motel mattress and thumbed a phone number into his cell. Half a ring later, a gruff but excited response came from the other end.

"About time, did you find something else?"

"Yeah, I meant to call a couple days ago. Sorry."

"But you saw the angel again?"

"Better than that. We talked."

"Talked?" Bobby shifted, interested.

"Yeah, strange guy. His motives seemed fair though." Dean said, thinking about Castiel's one-man demon-hunting.

"Just tell me what you know," Bobby urged, losing interest. "So far, I've got _immunity to demon weapons and sigils,_ frickin' _touch-sedation_,_ and vanishing_."

"He knew things automatically about me and Sam. He's also been killing demons around the country not sure how he's doin' it though."

"And weaknesses?"

"Besides not understanding modern english? No, nothing."

Bobby groaned from the other end of the phone.

"And there's more of them. I think he's the only one deployed down here right now though. Says demons are gonna start sniffing around again." Dean told him, not wanted to mention Yellow-Eyes.

"Right. Keep me updated, boy. I'm keeping a book." Bobby hung up.

Dean shook his head and got dressed.

"Hey, I think we got a case, Dean." Sam said looking at a newspaper article. He had circled a picture in the Obituary.

"Steven Shoemaker…" Dean said, inspecting the picture and throwing on his jacket. "I'll bite. Let's go."

* * *

After unsuccessfully heckling the morgue tech for several minutes, Sam stepped up and bribed the guy with over a hundred bucks of Dean's hard-earned gambling money.

"His daughter found him. Said his eyes were bleeding." Dean summarized.

The morgue tech pulled the sheet off the man's face. "More than that. They practically liquefied."

Dean sucked in a breath and leaned slightly closer. He hadn't gotten a good look before but it looked similar to Pamela's eyes after she had looked at Castiel's true form. A quick whiff let him know that the man had not been possessed—the body was sulfur-free.

Shit. He looked over at Sam who had his jaw set firmly. He didn't want to believe it either.

"Any sign of struggle?" Sam asked weakly.

"No. Besides the daughter, he was all alone."

"Damn." Dean grimaced, tightening his fist. The 'angel' had screwed them over. Actually had him believing he was what he said he was. Dean had just started to have a hope that maybe something else was out there, fighting the good fight.

"Official cause of death?" There was no emotion in Sam's voice.

"Ah, Doc's not sure. He's thinking massive stroke, maybe an aneurysm? Something burst up in there, that's for sure."

Dean looked up. "What do you mean?"

"Intense cerebral bleeding. This guy had more blood in his skull than anyone I've ever seen."

"Great, thanks." Sam said.

"We should get back to campus now," Dean told the tech as they walked out the door.

Dean and Sam left the building brooding.

"Now we've got to figure out how to kill an all-powerful creature claiming to be an

They don't know how to get Castiel so they had no choice but to continue the investigation.

* * *

Sam and Dean arrived at the funeral in their backyard, like sore thumbs in their casual clothes. They approached a round-faced teen with short brown hair and two pretty blonde girls sitting next to her.

"You must be Donna, right?" Dean asked.

"Yeah," the brunette said.

"Hi, uh—we're really sorry." Sam added.

"Thank you."

"I'm Sam, this is Dean. We worked with your dad."

Donna looked at Charlie then back at the hunters. "You did?"

Noting their skepticism, Dean changed the subject. "Yeah. This whole thing. I mean, a stroke."

"I don't think she really wants to talk about this right now." Charlie told him firmly.

"It's okay. I'm okay."

"But there weren't any symptoms? Like dizziness or migraines?" Dean asked.

"No." Donna said. Dean frowned. Castiel attacking was more and more likely.

A younger girl turned around from where she had been sitting. "That's because it wasn't a stroke." She insisted.

"Lily, don't say that," Donna hissed.

"What?" Sam asked.

"I'm sorry, she's just upset."

"No, it happened because of me." The girl insisted again. Sam took this moment to try and get some answers.

"Lily, why would you say something like that?" Sam asked gently, crouching down to the flustered girl's eye level.

"Right before he died, I said it."

"You said what?" Sam asked.

"Bloody Mary, three times in the bathroom mirror." Lily told him. "She took his eyes, that's what she does."

"That's not why Dad died. This isn't your fault." Donna told her seriously.

"I think your sister's right, Lily. There's no way it could have been Bloody Mary. Your dad didn't say it, did he?" Dean smiled reassuringly.

"No, I don't think so." Lily admitted.

* * *

"So do you still think—?" Sam asked as they got back into the Impala.

"No. There's a lot of weight to the Bloody Mary lore. And the dad's brain was stir-fried. Pam's was fine."

"Alright, let's see what we can find about Bloody Mary then." Sam said, shutting the car door with finality.

* * *

"Well, shit. That's a lot of mirrors." Dean said as they entered the storehouse.

"And she can probably come through any one of them. I'll be careful."

Dean nodded and walked out the door, wishing he could be with his brother while he did this.

Sam glanced around, he'd been several quick movements through the mirrors. Finally, his attention landed on one in particular. His reflection studied him then changed into something more sinister. "You killed her. It's your fault because you never stopped it. You should've, could've. Don't you hunt demons?"

Sams eyes stung with what he presumed to be tears. He brought a palm to his face to wipe them away but his hand came back red. He stared back at the mirror. His legs felt weak. Warm blood trails were running down his cheeks.

Sam fell to the floor as Bloody Mary continued to berate him. "You never told her the truth—who you really were. But it's more than that, isn't it? Those nightmares you've been having of Jessica dying, screaming, burning—You had them for days before she died. Didn't you? You were so desperate to ignore them, to believe they were just dreams. How could you ignore them like that? How could you leave her alone to die? You dreamt it would happen!" The ghost wailed.

Dean ran through the door with a crowbar and smashed the mirror. Then he ran to Sam's side. "Sam, Sammy!"

"It's Sam," Sam groaned.

"God, are you okay?" Dean asked, staring at the blood dripping from his eyes.

"Uh, yeah."

Dean looked around. Any of the mirrors could house Bloody Mary. "Some mirror-shattering angels could be really helpful right about now," Dean grouched, pulling his brother to his feet.

He turned around in time to she Mary climb out of the mirror frame. As she walked toward them, they both fell to the ground, overcome by sudden weakness. Ignoring the blood dripping down his face, he grabbed a mirror. Mary stopped a stared, terrified at her own reflection.

"You killed them! All those people! You killed them!" Her reflection screeched. Mary started choking, bleeding from her eyes and gasping as she fell to her knees. Finally, she melted into a pool of her own blood.

"Hey Sam?" Dean asked, dropping the mirror.

"Yeah?"

"This has got to be like…what? Six hundred years of bad luck?"

* * *

Dean sat on a bench in one of the corners of the motel, staring at the moon.

"Hello, Dean."

"How do you just _appear?_" Dean asked, startled.

"Space is fluid, Dean. We can fly from place to place in a matter of seconds."

"Fine. Weren't you sent here to deal with the monster problem? Then why don't you help us?"

"It was my intent from the beginning. Then I understood Sam's advantage. How he had a secret no one else knew."

"But you know?" Dean furrowed his eyebrows, trying to follow.

"Yes, I doubted it would matter as I am a non-terrestreal being, however, being within a close proximity to him would have amended that."

"You stayed away on a hunch?"

"For the most part. I came to Charlotte in her sleep and influenced her to be more trusting of you."

"Gee, thanks." Dean said. Then Dean thought of something. "You said you knew Sam's secret."

"I do."

"What is it?"

"Sam holds the only right to tell." Castiel said. Dean blinked and he was gone.

"Oh, come on! What, are you allergic to straight answers, you son of a bitch?" Dean grouched, worried his brother would refuse to tell him.

* * *

Sam and Dean dropped Charlie back at her house.

"So this is really over?" She asked carefully.

Dean nodded. "Yeah, it's over." He smiled. It was over for her, at least.

"Thank you." She said, shaking his hand and getting out of the car.

"Charlie?" Sam called and she turned around. "Your boyfriend's death…you really should try to forgive yourself. No matter what you did, you probably couldn't have stopped it. Sometimes bad things just happen."

Charlie gave him a faint smile and turned back to the house.

"That's good advice," Dean said as they pulled away. "Hey Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Now that this is all over, I want you to tell me what that secret its."

"Look..you're my brother and I'd die for you, but there are some things I need to keep to myself." Sam looked out at the street corner, imagining Jess smiling at him. He blinked and she was gone.

* * *

**Cas calls Charlie 'Charlotte' because Charlie's usually a nick-name. **

**As they get to know each other, Castiel will be more involved in their cases. I didn't want to rush their relationship.**

**Please review!**


	4. 1x06 Skin

**Sorry, everyone. Short chapter but I'm on my way to a Mission Trip in an hour so I'll release the next chapter as soon as I get back next week. Unfortunately there wasn't a lot of room for their development in this chapter.**

* * *

**1x06 Skin **(When one of Sam's old school friends is framed for the murder of his girlfriend, Sam and Dean investigate, discovering that a shapeshifter is responsible for that murder and possibly other similar murders.)

* * *

Dean and Sam walked around the side of a house towards Dean's car parked on the street.

"Oh, there she is! Finally, something went right tonight." Dean grinned, hurrying to the Impala.

Just as he was moving toward his baby, a police car appeared and stopped at his car.

"Ah, crap." He scowled, ducking out of sight. They turned around but saw more police officers parked several yards away, clearly waiting for them to arrive. "This way, this way!" Dean hissed, running toward the fence before they were noticed.

"You go. I'll hold 'em off." Sam called back.

"What are you talking about? They'll catch you!" Dean hissed, beckoning him over.

"Look, they can't hold me. Just go, keep out of sight. Meet me at Rebecca's." Sam urged. Dean only had a second to weigh his options before he started climbing the fence.

"Dean, stay out of the sewers alone. I mean it!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Dean called from the other side of the fence.

* * *

Dean was grabbed a rifle from his trunk, feeling slightly guilty that he was about to ignore his brother's request. "Sorry, Sam. But you know me—I just can't wait." He shut the trunk, gun in hand, ready to head towards the sewers when he noticed Castiel standing beside the car.

"Castiel!" Dean jumped back, lowering his gun.

Castiel nodded with nonchalance. "Dean."

"What are you doing here? Quit following us around man. When do you even find time to sleep?"

"I don't sleep." Castiel told him.

"Right," Dean groaned. Why was his life so full of weirdos?

"I've come to warn you about a few things. First that your brother is in trouble."

"Yeah," Dean rubbed the back of his neck, "he got arrested. But he'll be fine."

"No, he's been intercepted. By you."

Dean took a moment to try to understand. "What?"

"The Body-snatcher found him. He has taken your appearance but I'm unaware if he's noticed."

Dean frowned. "He's definitely noticed."

"Not quickly enough. He is in the sewers."

"Crap." Dean grabbed extra ammo and started to walk away.

"Another thing. Sam needs to stop."

Dean turned around, gun instinctively tighter in his hands. "Stop what?"

"He needs to stop blaming himself for what happened."

Dean pondered that for a moment. The angel didn't make any sense. "Why are you helping us?" The question came out sharper than he'd intended but neither man cared. He was so used to being the only one to watch his brother's back.

"Very soon now, you will be of use to the Heavenly Host." Castiel said in way of explanation.

"Great," Dean said, watching the empty air where the angel had been.

* * *

"I talked to Castiel today," Dean ventured, eyes carefully on the road instead of his brother's face.

"You talked to him?" Sam asked, sitting up in his seat quickly.

"Yeah. He keeps dropping by. Says my use'll come soon enough." Dean said. Sam nodded.

"He says you shouldn't blame yourself." Dean told him as if it weren't a big deal.

Sam immediately looked away, pretending to watch the scenery from out his window, wondering if it was possible. And if all was forgiven if an angel had told him not to blame himself. If he _wanted_ to be forgiven. He blinked before a tear could roll down his cheek, glad, for once, that his brother was too stubborn to look away from the road.

* * *

**Please review!**


	5. 1x07 Hook Man

**Thank you for your patience! I'm starting college soon so I'm making this chapter longer because I'll be busy. Thanks for reviewing **ButterflyBlueEyes **and **DetectiveKid1414**. Don't worry Castiel will get to meet pretty much everyone. :)**

* * *

**1x07 Hookman **(In a quiet Iowa college town, a minister prays to protect his parishioners' children. But another minister (a two-centuries-old madman with a hook for a hand) wants them terrified, slashed and dead.)

Dean was already cracking open the pie container as Sam unlocked the motel room. As he waked in, he was staring at his pie, which meant, of course, he wasn't looking into the room as he walked in.

Sam was though, and in an instant, he had his gun drawn and the safety off.

Dean, no matter how distracted by his pie he may be, could recognize Sam's near silent breath of surprise and the ring of the metal weapon being drawn. Staring out the window on the other side of the room was Castiel.

"Who are you!" Sam demanded, finger over the trigger.

Dean tosses his pie onto the bed and threw his arm out in front of the barrel of Sam's gun. Sam's jumpiness went a long way in measuring his stress level.

"Sam! Sam, wait! It's Castiel!" Dean wasn't taking chances—his brother looked very nervous and the sooner he calmed him down, the better. "The angel." He told him in a softer voice.

Sam's disposition changed instantly. He lowered the gun and set it on the nightstand next to him as if putting the weapon back into his jacket pocket would insult the angel.

Castiel turned his head to watch Sam. The tall boy gulped, nervous then took hesitant steps toward Castiel. He swallowed and blinked away the wetness in his eyes as Castiel turned completely to face the two men.

Dean frowned inwardly at the large smile that crossed Sam's face, hoping his brother wouldn't be too disappointed—the angel was far from what they usually fought but he wasn't particularly friendly either.

"Hello, Sam."

"Oh my God—er—uh—I didn't mean to—sorry. It's an honor, really. I've heard a lot about you."Sam babbled nervously.

The older of the two hunters studied the angel's face. It showed no sign of being happy or even content with the reverence he was getting nor did he look annoyed. His expression looked both blank and intense.

Sam held his hand out. His fingers felt tingly at the idea of touching an angel. Castiel stared curiously down at Sam's hand, unsure what he wanted. Dean frowned again, realizing just how foreign Earth was for the creature in front of them. Sam shook his hand up and down slightly, hoping Castiel would take his hand and repeat the action. Luckily, Castiel finally seemed to understand the gesture and complied.

"And I, you. Sam Winchester—" Castiel replied with a grim expression. "Most unfortunate circumstances brought you back to hunt." He said, placing his other hand over Sam's. The young man's smile wavered just slightly.

Dean stepped up. "Alright, enough small-talk. Why are you here?" Dean asked impatiently.

Castiel showed no sign of hearing him, much to Dean's annoyance. "Have you discovered the controller of the Hook Man?"

"Hook Man?"

"The creature you're hunting. I believe human lore calls it the 'Hook Man'."

Sam and Dean exchanged a surprised glance. The Hook Man legend was one of the most famous monster legends.

Sam shook his head. "We haven't found anything yet but we're working on it."

"Is this how it's going to work?" Dean asked, out of the blue.

"What do you mean?" Castiel asked.

"You're just going to show up, check on us like we're kids and tell us what to do. We haven't even seen any demons since the connivence store." Dean observed irritably.

"My coming here was pre-emptive, Dean. I have been killing demons around the country, weakening their forces before they are ready to strike. My task doesn't leave me with extra time." He explained.

"Fine. Okay, great well now that you're here, why don't you tell us who's controlling the Hook Man and we'll gank it. Everybody goes home happy."

"We are not omniscient. The identity of the Hook Man's puppet master is cloaked even to our methods." Castiel cocked his head and squinted his eyes like he was listening to something. "It seems…that whoever is controlling it knows where you are, however."

He crouched at the wall low enough that his trench coat skimmed the floor. He pushed at a spot on the wall with two fingers. To the hunter's surprise, it took no effort for the angel to create a hole in the drywall. He stood up again and presented a hex bag to them before slipping it into his pocket.

"Listen to me, Sam and Dean," Castiel said firmly. "Something has been killing wrongfully in God's name. It must be stopped. If you cannot find it, I will be forced to take more drastic measures." Castiel warned before disappearing.

Dean tensed,thinking about what more drastic measures might be.

Sam sat down, dazed. "A-an angel." He didn't look particularly happy but neither did he look disappointed. In fact, he didn't seem like he even knew what to think at all.

Dean felt the awkward tension. "You alright, man?"

"Yeah," Sam replied. Dean nodded wishing Sam would be more honest with him.

"Well then, let's go find that Hook Man."

* * *

"Who would kill people in God's name if they didn't believe in Him?" Sam explained, when again, Dean had complained about going to the church. All yesterday had been fruitless searching and the town's largest holy ground seemed like the best place to go.

After inadvertently disrupting the service by arriving late, Sam and Dean took their seats in the pews.

Dean, quickly bored by the sermon, let his mind wander. Did angels in heaven spend eternity in church? He could imagine stoic Castiel sitting listening for…well, ever. But were other angels like Castiel? Or was it just his luck he got stuck with that one serious-jerky angel.

He got disrupted from his train of thought when Sam nudged him and gestured from him to bow his head. They were praying. He complied.

Was there heavenly customer service? Surely God couldn't listen to everyone. Did the angels listen? …Did anyone?

* * *

At the end of the service, Sam and Dean approached the Reverend's daughter and the girl she was talking to. They hugged and the tall, dark-skinned girl left in a hurry.

"Are you Lori?"

She replied affirmatively. Sam and Dean introduced themselves as transfers and offered their condolences. Sam had a very real moment were he shared that he had gone through the same pain.

Finally, her dad joined them.

"Dad, um, this is Sam and Dean. They're new students." Lori said and Dean shook the man's hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. I must say, that was an…inspiring sermon."

The Reverend smiled. "Thank you very much, it's so nice to find young people open to the LORD's message."

Dean chuckled. "Uh, yeah, you could say that." In fact, he was kind of on a holy mission right now.

"Listen, uh, we're new in town, actually," Dean started, leading the Reverend away from Sam and Lori while pulling words of his ass.

* * *

"What Lori told me definitely lines up with the Hook Man legend." Sam told his brother. "And that's not all. There's been crimes like this before too. A preacher killed thirteen prostitutes in one night on Nine Mile Road. The same place where that frat boy was killed."

"Nice job, Dr. Venkmen. Let's check it out."

* * *

Castiel appeared on the street corner in front of the sorority. The smell of blood was pungent but the humans didn't seem to notice. The Hook Man had struck again. He teleported into the bedroom, noticing Lori Sorensen still asleep. On the wall with scarlet scrawl read:

Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light?

Castiel peered out the window to see Sam and Dean approaching the house and disappeared.

* * *

Sam waited outside Lori's house on the bench. Eventually, after a fight with her dad, she came outside and joined him and they begun to talk.

"No one will talk to me anymore. Except you. The sheriff thinks I'm a suspect. And you know what my dad will say? Pray. Have faith. What does he know about faith?" She was more upset now.

"I heard you guys fighting."

"He's seeing a woman." She raged. "A married woman. I just found out. She comes to our church with her husband. I know her kids. And he talks to me about religion? About morality? It's like on one hand, you know, just do what you want and be happy. But he taught me, raised me to believe that if you do something wrong you will get punished. I just don't know what to think anymore." She hugged Sam, who let her, confusion written on his face. She started to kiss him but Sam pulled back, struck by flashes of Jess.

"Sam?"

"Lori, I can't"

"That someone you lost?" Lori asked. After a pregnant pause, she added, "I'm sorry."

"Lori? Come inside, please." The reverend called.

"I'll come in when I'm ready!" She called back angrily. Suddenly, the Hook Man appeared behind him and dragged him back into the house by his shoulder. Sam grabbed his gun as he heard the man yell.

* * *

Sam approached Lori, who was sitting at a pew crying. "Lori?"

"What are you doing here?"

"What is it?"

"I've been trying to understand what's been happening. Why? Now I know so I'm praying for forgiveness." She told him, hands still clasped.

"Forgiveness for what?"Sam asked.

"Don't you see? I'm to blame for all this. I've read in the Bible about avenging angels.

Sam smiled slightly. "Trust me, this guy's no angel."

* * *

"Sam, drop!" Dean yelled, entering the room with his gun raised. Dean shot the Hook Man who disappeared into dust.

"I thought we had all the silver." Sam gasped.

"So did I."

"Then why is he still here?"

"Well, maybe he missed something!" Dean yelled, looking around.

"Lori, where's your necklace?" Sam asked suddenly.

Lori's hand went to her chest when she realized she wasn't wearing it anymore. "He must have taken it when he grabbed me!" Lori cried out.

"That smart bastard." Dean hissed. Across the hall the Hook Man re-appeared and started running at them. Dean emptied a round into his body but they did little to slow him down. The creature's hook raised above his head, and Dean with little room to move, raised his arm above his head in attempt to block a fatal blow.

But it never came because in front of them stood the trench coat-clad angel holding the Hook Man's hook hand above his head. The creature wailed and tried retreating his arm from Castiel's grip but couldn't escape.

"A preacher's life work is to spread the Word of God. You practiced prejudice and hatred, even after death. Your warped piety ends now, Jacob." Castiel reached out with his other hand and placed his palm on the Hook Man's forehead. The creature disintegrated. Castiel looked back at the three then kneeled down in front of Lori.

"Peace, Loretta Sorenson. Sleep well until morning." Then he touched her forehead with two fingers.

Standing up again, he nodded at the two boys. "I've dimmed her memories of the last few days to ease her soul." Then he walked out the door.

* * *

Dean relaxed against a bench in a large park across the church. When Lori woke up she had been polite and recognized them as the two new students she had met. She was still reeling from her father's injuries and her friend's death, but she didn't look so broken anymore. He hoped Sam wouldn't look so broken with time either.

His ears picked up the flap of powerful wings and he looked over to see Castiel, sitting on the bench next to him, forearms resting on his legs and hands clasped. It was strange to see him sitting this way.

"You take this God stuff pretty serious, huh?" Dean said after the angel made no move to speak.

"We are Shepherds. And these people, they're all my father's creations. Even if they stray off their paths. They're works of art and even though we prevented another disaster today, a hundred more will occur today. And tomorrow. This world, it's so broken." Castiel seemed almost weary.

"We've all been busy." Dean nodded with understanding, for them, everyday was another battle. Listening carefully to Castiel's first real display of emotion, besides his anger toward the Hook Man.

"Can I tell you something?" Castiel finally asked. Dean nodded.

"I understand right and wrong." Castiel told him. "But I know that the choices you will have to make some day, there are decisions I don't know the answer to. It's a weight on your shoulders I don't envy. I truly don't."

Dean sat still for a while thinking about his words. When he looked back toward the opposite bench, the angel was gone.

* * *

**If you think how Sam reacted to Castiel is out of character then you were thinking about season 4 Sam. Please re-imagine it using Season 1 Sam.**

**Please review!**


	6. 1x08 Bugs

**Because this such a short story, I'll post the next one really soon!**

* * *

**1x08 Bugs** (Sam and Dean head to Oklahoma to investigate a recent spate of insect-related deaths around a new housing development.)

Sam and Dean had just finished talking to who Dean called angsty-spider-boy. They were increasingly aware of the impending swarm. _Castiel sure would be helpful right about now. _Dean sighed inwardly.

"What's next?" Sam asked, anxiously bumping his fist against his thigh.

"We'll bring those bones to someone who can actually tell us something about 'em." Dean said, throwing his bag into the trunk.

After searching a directory for anything that could be helpful, they had their first chance, a nearby college's history professor.

"Let's—" Dean abruptly stopped talking after the space in front of him had been filled with angel. "Hey, Cas."

Castiel stood in front of them, eyebrows furrowed in surprise.

"Tiel."

"What?" Dean frowned.

"I assume you forgot the rest of my name. I am Castiel." He explained earnestly.

Dean quirked his eyebrows. _The guy actually thought they forgot his name?_

"Dean, Sam. How is the hunt going?" Castiel asked after several silent moments.

"We're about to have a swarm of bugs hitting the town. Good timing on your check in, by the way." Dean replied. Castiel's eyes narrowed in confusion this time—Dean had _asked_ him to come, hadn't he?

"Of course," He nodded instead.

"So, can you smite the bugs or something?" Sam urged. "There's only an hour until sunset."

"I cannot. If I recall correctly, this land was inhabited by the Euchee Tribe. Their chief prayed to God to protect their home after their deaths. Thier agreement is holy, and no one, demon or angel can touch it. Your only hope is to leave now or wait for the sun. This town should never have been built, Dean."

A few moments elapsed silently. "I shouldn't even be here, angels lose most of their power in these areas." Castiel disappeared.

When Dean didn't say anything, Sam spoke up. "We need to evacuate the Pikes."

* * *

**Next chapter is coming out by Wednesday, today at the earliest. :)**


	7. 1x09 Home

**Well, I promised to have it out soon, I have to say, I did a pretty good job! This chapter is much (much) longer than the last. Please enjoy and review. I'm really excited!**

* * *

**1x09 Home (Sam and Dean go back to Lawrence following a vision Sam has of their old home.)**

"Dean, I know where we have to go next." Sam finally said, looking down at the picture.

"Where?"

"Back home-back to Kansas."

Dean swallowed. "Okay, random. Where'd that come from?"

"All right, um, this photo was taken in front of our old house, right? The house where Mom died?" Sam asked.

"Yeah."

"And it didn't burn down, right? I mean, not completely, they rebuilt it, right?" Sam continued.

"I guess so, yeah. What the hell are you talkin' about?" Honestly, Dean wanted to shut down the conversation right then but knew that he had a job to do.

"Okay, look, this is gonna sound crazy but….the people who live in our old house–-I think they might be in danger."

"Why would you think that?"

"Uh…it's just, um….look, just trust me on this, okay?" Sam started to walk away but Dean followed him.

"Wait, whoa, whoa, trust you?" Dean scoffed. _Oh come, on Sam. You gotta do better than that._

"Yeah."

"Come on, man, that's weak. You gotta give me a little bit more than that."

"I can't really explain it is all."

"Well, tough. I'm not goin' anywhere until you do." Dean told him stubbornly.

"I have these nightmares." Sam finally said.

Dean nodded. "Yeah, I noticed."

"And sometimes….they come true."

Dean looked stunned. He opened his mouth to retort but nothing came out. He sat on the bed and tried again. "Wait, come again?"

"Look, Dean….I dreamt about Jessica's death –- for days before it happened."

"Was that what Cas was trying to tell me?" Dean asked.

"Castiel knew?" Sam asked, wide-eyed.

"He's a freaking angel, we've gotta assume he knows_ everything_." Dean retorted.

"Well, we'll deal with that later then. The family living in the house might be in danger. I mean, this might even be the thing that killed Mom and Jessica!"

"All right, just slow down, would ya?" Dean stood up and began pacing. "I mean, first you tell me that you've got the Shining? And then you tell me that I've gotta go back home? Especially when…."

"When what?" Sam asked.

"When I swore to myself that I would never go back there."

"Look, Dean, we have to check this out. Just to make sure." Sam said softly.

"I know we do." He replied.

* * *

IN LAWRENCE

"I'll be right back. I gotta go to the bathroom." Dean told his brother, walking around the corner and taking out his cell phone. Drumming his hand on his leg, he brought his phone to his ear.

"This is John Winchester. If this is an emergency, call my son, Dean at 866-907-3235."

After the beep, Dean left his message. "Dad? I know I've left you messages before. I don't even know if you'll get 'em." He cleared his throat. "But I'm with Sam. And we're in Lawrence. And there's somethin' in our old house. I don't know if it's the thing that killed Mom or not, but…."

Dean took a breath to steady himself. Just being in town again was releasing a powerful stream of bad memories. "…I don't know what to do. So, whatever you're doin', if you could get here. Please. I need your help, Dad."

* * *

Dean, Sam and Missouri Mosely stood in Sari's bedroom. Dean knew it as someone else's though.

"If there's a dark energy around here, this room should be the center of it." She concentrated carefully.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"This used to be your nursery, Sam. This is where it all happened." She told him somberly. Sam couldn't help glancing at the ceiling. While Missouri kept looking around the room, and Dean pulled out a piece of equipment. "That an EMF?"

"Yeah." Dean answered, adjusting the controls.

"Amateur." Missouri told him. Dean glared, he made it himself and he was proud of it.

He looked back down to measure the readings but the EMF Meter started beeping frantically.

"I don't know if you boys should be disappointed or relieved, but this ain't the thing that took your mom."

"Wait, are you sure? How do you know?" Sam asked. The beeping became faster.

"It isn't the same energy I felt the last time I was here. It's somethin' real different."

"What is it?" As Dean asked. "Shit!" he jumped back and dropped the EMF Meter as it exploded in his hands.

In front of them stood the angel. Missouri jumped back in surprise.

"Who is this? It's presence is so strong!" Missouri shouted.

"Missouri, it's alright. This is—" Sam began.

Castiel approached the woman. "My name is Castiel. I'm an angel. Pleased to meet you." Missouri sat down, hard. Dean did his best to ignore this, it wasn't time for coddling. He had bigger questions.

"Cas, you mentioned prophets before. Is Sam a prophet?" Dean asked. The angel averted his eyes.

"No, he is not."

"He had a vision about the future. That's a prophecy, isn't it."

"There are many reasons a dream like that could come to be...Sam did not have a prophecy."

Dean looked at the angel. "Why are you so sure? What aren't you telling me?" Dean demanded. "And how did you know it was a dream?"

"Cas, just tell us." Sam urged.

"I…was the one to send the dream to you, Sam." Castiel told him, meeting the younger brother's eyes with a great intensity.

"What?" Dean growled. "Why the _hell_ did you do that?"

"I was on a demon hunt. I found this house with an unusually strong demonic presence. The demon won't reveal itself to me. This place was your old dwelling, I believed you would both be willing to help the people residing here."

Dean relaxed a little but still looked pissed. "If you wanted our help, why the hell didn't you just ask?"

Castiel stared straight at him. "Because whatever I ask, you seem to do the exact opposite."

* * *

Missouri calmed down after being re-introduced to Castiel. Dean chastised Castiel for breaking his EMF Meter and she cuffed him over the head and told him to act more respectful to an angel. Dean could have sworn Cas looked smug for an instant. They lay purification bags around the house, thanked Jenny for letting them come in again and left.

Dean had told Castiel teleport to the car as not to scare Jenny. ('This is your hunt, you gotta stay and help us gank this sucker.')

Missouri head home while Sam and Dean camped out in front of the house. Castiel, sitting in the backseat, looked slightly tense.

* * *

Finally about an hour into the stake-out, Castiel whipped his head around to look at the upstairs window. Jenny was screaming and pounding on the window. In an instant, Castiel was gone.

"Shit." Dean breathed, slamming the car door behind him and running toward the house. The boys started kicking the front door as the they heard crashing on the second floor. It took several kicks for the wood to splinter under their feet enough that they could reach in and open the door.

"Sam, grab the kids." Dean ordered, already climbing up the stairs. He ran to Jenny's room. A poltergeist appeared near the bed, causing Jenny who was standing petrified against the wall, to shriek. An instant later, Cas appeared. The two supernatural beings flitted across the room like a game of tag, finally, Cas, who seemed to be faster, grabbed the poltergeist by its neck and slammed it into the wall.

It wailed in the shock of being tangible and thrashed wildly. A thick wire extension cord slowly wound itself around Castiel's leg and started sliding up his torso. The angel looked down at it put didn't release his grip of the poltergeist. Dean grabbed his knife to cut the cord but a loud bang sounded from the lower floor.

"Dean, that's Sam. There's something else has just appeared downstairs. Go to your brother." The wire had wrapped around his neck completely and he stopped talking but still the angel didn't seem particularly worried.

"Are—" Dean asked. Cas nodded impatiently and hurled the creature at the wall. Dean ran downstairs. "Their weakness is iron!" Dean called, running back downstairs.

"Sam! Sam!" He called. Sam stood facing the spectral ghost. He raised his iron knife to charge at it.

"No! Wait, Dean! Wait!" Sam called. The figure had caught fire. Quickly as they had come, the flames burnt out, leaving behind the form of their mother.

"Mom." Dean could hear his heartbeat in his throat. She was beautiful. She was standing in front of them but she didn't look _alive_ and that's the only thing that stopped him from losing control and running to her.

"Dean. Sam. I'm sorry." Her face sounding real, just like the wonderful woman she had been.

"For what?" Sam asked with tears in his eyes. Their mother smiled before diverting her attention towards the ceiling.

"You, let my sons go. Get out of my house." She ordered. There was a great flash of the exorcized demon before the spirit of their mother turned to flames once again.

* * *

The three men stood on the stairs.

"Cas, you defeated the poltergeist?"

"No, I didn't have the chance. The spirit of your mother, it vanquished it. It destroyed her though, for that I am sorry." Castiel told them.

Sam nodded, still looking like he was having a hard time putting back the pieces again. He stuck his hands in his pockets and wandered away towards the Impala.

Dean clasped his hands between his knees and thought for a moment."Cas. Why did you save me?"

"I don't know what you mean." Castiel's eyes didn't move from where they stared at the sun.

"Why do you keep coming to help us? You're from heaven, and there are billions of people. Why do you care about what happens to me?" Dean looked at the angel with breaking eyes.

"You're different Dean. You always will be."

* * *

**From here on out you might start to notice that its more about sticking around and being part of the pre-Team Free ****Will than leaving them on their own and saving them on whims like the first couple chapters seemed like.**

**Please review! I'll get me moving on the next chapter and hopefully, help me give you a better experience as a reader! :)**


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